Wellbeing Wednesday – New Beginnings

byNatashalhonMarch 15, 2017

Hello and welcome to another Wellbeing Wednesday! I hope you all had a great Pi day yesterday and enjoyed some pie, if that’s you’re thing. March 14 is also Einstein’s birthday, so it’s a pretty good day for math and science nerds, as well as people who like sweets! If you didn’t realize yesterday was a great excuse to eat some pie, just remember it for next year. =)

With today’s Wellbeing Wednesday printable, I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone of a very important message:

This week’s quotation wasn’t inspired by a couple of things. Recently I’ve been re-reading The Power of Now. This quotation reminds me of the Ego’s struggle to survive, its fear of death, and the Ego’s identification with the pain-body. Tolle writes that we are likely to face resistance while disassociating ourselves from our pain-body. Ending this association can be a painful ending, as it were, but the new beginning is a greater sense of presence and a freedom from the destructive cycle of inflicting pain on yourself and others.

Additionally, this quotation spoke to me because of some recent happenings in a friend’s life. This friend recently suffered a painful loss, and I want to send this quotation out there to everyone who’s faced difficult times as a reminder that endings can lead to beautiful new beginnings.

I also wanted to discuss the creation of this image a bit. I’ve really enjoyed “unveiling” my creative process in Friday posts, so I wanted to bring a bit of that into today’s post, too! The background layer is a hand painted watercolor texture I created with two lovely transparent watercolor paints (Daniel Smith Verditer Blue and Daler-Rowney Transparent Turquoise).

Then, believe it or not, I applied this pretty grungy looking layered texture!

I used it in “soft light” blending mode, and the result is beautiful:

I think sometimes textures can be a bit intimidating if you’re not familiar with them, and it can be easy to think that they’re only for creative edits of ultimately ‘unrealistic’ images, but that absolutely isn’t the case. They are useful for a wide variety of photographic and fine art edits, but also for graphic design purposes. You just have to play with the blending modes and opacity slider!

If you’re interested in playing with textures and overlays, please stop by my texture store. You’ll find a variety of free and paid textures, overlays, and backgrounds. (The exact watercolor background I used in this image is in one of the packs!) Also, stay tuned because on Friday I’m launching a Skillshare class demonstrating, step by step, how to make layered textures! There will be links to sign up for free in Friday’s post, so please make sure to stop by. 🙂

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March 14 is pie day because, in the American way of writing the date, that makes it 3 14, or 3.14 like the mathematical pi! Great little excuse to have some pie. =)

I also have to work to quiet my monkey mind, as others have put it, on a daily basis. It can be a lot of work, but I think as soon as you experience a period of truly being present “in the now” and recognize it for what it is, sticking with it is easier because you know how rewarding it is. For years I found riding my bike very meditative and it was easier for me to be present while biking. I’ve missed my bike since it was stolen because it was more than just transportation to me!

Nature has always called to me - I love the smell of fresh dirt in my hands, the feel of salt air on my skin, and the sound of newly fallen leaves under foot.

I also love creating and dream of a simpler life filled with handmade items built to last, family meals around the table, and fewer electronic interruptions. The Artisan Life is where I combine my passions for crafting and the natural world to bring you tutorials, DIYs, and tips to help you create a more naturally-inspired life in our fast-paced modern world.

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